by Robert O'Brien

Created on: June 04, 2008   Last Updated: June 06, 2008

Attached and detached garages, our communities are filled with many fine examples of both, but is one type better than the other? We live in a built environment comprised of the old and the new, and in areas of varying densities ranging from high density urban to low density rural. Each property has unique characteristics and is impacted by varying criteria, depending upon these and other factors. However, our growing need to be more environmentally responsible must now play a significant role in our design strategies.

Historically, the garage evolved from the carriage house, which was commonly built away from the principal residence on account of the dust and the smells associated with horse-powered means of transport. As horsepower on four legs gave way to horsepower on four wheels, the garage evolved and became a structure built around the automobile. In the early twentieth century it was still quite common to see garages constructed as separate structures, set apart from the home, still very much like their carriage house precursors. Residential communities that sprang up outside of major metropolitan areas in the early part of the last century often featured long, narrow lots with a house in the front and a separate, detached "carriage house" garage near the rear of the property. The thinking was probably very much the same; keep those noisy, stinky things away from the house! The family car improved however, and became more acceptable, and with this came sweeping changes in how Americans lived.

Postwar America brought enormous population growth, and along with the baby boom came the need for housing, and lots of it. The need for affordable housing put a further squeeze on lot sizes, and the sizes of dwellings themselves. While architects had already been thinking about and building attached carports or garages for decades, it wasn't really until the postwar era that we saw an explosion in this type of construction. Frank Lloyd Wright for instance, maintained that the automobile was durable enough to remain outdoors without the need for enclosure, so why spend good money wrapping structure around it? His Usonian houses are good examples of this. Additionally, many designers loved the look of automobiles, sleek and streamlined in glossy colors accented with chrome trim. To many, they were an extension of art. By mid-century, carports were a common feature of the typical American suburban house.

That said, not every community was willing to embrace the car

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